April 5, 2012

Nikki Haley is not ready for primetime

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was on Don Imus’s talk show yesterday morning to promote her new book titled Can’t Is Not an Option. At the end of the Imus interview, Haley took a Sherman-esque position regarding the vice-presidency, saying that she had promised the voters of South Carolina that she would complete the job they elected her to do.

Haley’s position vis-à-vis the vice-presidency seems just as strong as that other Southern prodigy Marco Rubio. I suspected that both are taking this principled position because they realize that Mitt Romney would not consider selecting someone so unqualified. Unlike John McCain, Mitt Romney plans to be a solid decision-maker who doesn’t gamble on long-shots like Sarah Palin.

Although Nikki Haley is more qualified than Sarah Palin to be vice president, the difference is not great. Haley is only 40-years old, and only spent four years in the South Carolina House of Representatives before being elected governor less than two years ago. She has enormous charisma and a compelling life story, but she needs at least four more years of seasoning, and possibly a couple years in the U.S. Senate, like Democratic wunderkind Barack Obama.